Family Separation At The Border

       My research question is what is the current situation for undocumented families crossing the United States with children? The reason why I chose this question is because I’m actually very interested to know what situation there in. I have been seeing a lot through the news and some on social media. How these families are being treated unfairly and being held for an extremely long period of time. Which is why I chose this question because in my research I want to go in depth and find out what’s actually happening after being caught at the border.

       My expectations to find in my research is that some type of unjustice is happening with these undocumented families. For example children are being separated from their parents. Also either parent or childern get any information about each other where about. Which I find very unfair because these children need their parents because they are too young to be alone. Where childern have to defend themselves as individuals when their just kids.The reason why I think I may find this in my research is because of past information that I have already seen. However, I hope to find that everything is being taken care of in the correct manner. Hopefully that these undocumented families and children are being treated as they should. 

       If in my research I find information that goes against my expectations I will still write about it. Mostly because either if it’s positive or negative it’s still information. Which is  good to know about. Being informed of good or bad information allows us to be aware of what’s going on in our society. Which results in influencing our way of thinking in certain topics. Where this allows us to make changes when we see its most needed. Which is also my purpose for my research paper to show and provide awareness of these situations. Where we can acknowledge these undocumented families. If so help them as little with making their situation heard. However, some genres that might give good information for my research paper are newspapers, novels, and videos. All these can help me find and understand more of my research questions. Which can provide me with strong evidence for my research paper. For example newspaper and video both can show me an outside perspective. Compared to a novel that can be written from a person that has experienced it in real life.

       First Source Entry: Domonoske, Camila, and Richard Gonzales. “What We Know: Family Separation And ‘Zero Tolerance’ At The Border.” NPR, NPR, 19 June 2018, www.npr.org/2018/06/19/621065383/what-we-know-family-separation-and-zero-tolerance-at-the-border. 

       In this article it states what happens after families are caught at the border. Children are separated immediately from their parents from the moment they get caught in the border of Mexico and Texas. In early May over 2,342 children had been separated from their parents. Based on the article, parents don’t know any information about their children after their separation. Although they were sent to a detention center where they are in holding cells. After three days these children go from immigrantion detention to the Office of Refugees Resettlement. Where they help contact any other family members of each child to take them in. ICE and ORR have worked together to set up a hotline for parents and children to keep in contact. However, when requested asylum at the port, entry from families are meant to stay together. Although it’s reported that they do not follow this right to immigrate families. Eventually President Trump signed an executive order reversing his policy of separating families.

       After reading this article I disagree on how the U.S Department of Homeland Security is controlling these immigrant families. Although most of the fault is on a current president which created this law to separate parents and children at the border. Which isn’t clearly a good idea because these children need to be with their parents in situations like these. According to the article, “ORR says children remain at these shelters for “fewer than 57 days on average.” However some children have been kept detained for months longer than that, and some advocates say certain facilities improperly administer psychotropic medications”. Within these detention centers children are going through these harsh processes alone with no parental comfort. Which proves how these young children are being psychologically traumatized. However I don’t understand how Trump signed an executive order reversing his policy of separating families. Although it’s good news to hear that now families that are detained at the borders can stay together. My question is why change now after having families and children suffer from separation from each loved one. Although to better understand this article I need to find more information from the government and their illegal procedures. Overall, this article answers my question but still needs more information to back my research question.

       In this article I liked some rhetorical factors the authors used. Besides pictures of the current children’s situation in these detention centers. One thing I mainly like that caught my attention was when they proved evidence, it wasn’t only reports of what people have said and stated. Although they cited other websites. Where they would link them in their writing that backed up their evidence.

       “Parents being deported may request that their children leave with them or may decide to leave the children in the U.S. to pursue their own immigration claim, ICE says. For instance, they might suggest another family member in the U.S. to sponsor their child, as described above.”

       Second Source Entry: News, Global. “The U.S.-Mexico Migrant Crisis: What Is Really Happening at the Border?” Youtube, 22 Aug. 2019, youtu.be/8Ra8udKbHro.

       In this video it explains what’s really happening in the United States Mexico Border from the beginning where everything started. In the data it shows how in the last 10 years the amount of  immigrants crossing the border have changed continuously. After 2014 it has shown more families traveling with children looking for refugee status. Most of these immigrant families are from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras which are from Central America. The international and U.S. law gives the right to any people that show up at the border to request for an asylum. An asylum can be granted to people or refugees that can not return to their home country because of prosecution. Although in April 2018 Trump announced the zero tolerance policy. Which is for any undocumented bordering crossings to be prosecuted criminally. Resulting in separation between parents and their children. Where these children are kept in tents and weren’t taken care of properly because they have been seen dirty. Haven’t been given enough essentials to be clean and not enough food. Based on the video many people are still coming across the border because they face more danger in their home country’s. 

       After viewing this video I disagree with the actions that our president Trump has taken towards immigrants. Mostly because of these specific actions is what caused so much horror for these immigrant families. For example the zero tolerance policy is an action that shouldn’t have ever been made. This policy apart from going against the law for undocumented people wanting to request for an asylum are treated drictely as criminals. According to the video it states “People don’t leave their home countries unless they have to unless what they are facing at home is so much worse then the dangers they face along the way”. I totally agree with this quote because these people don’t want to cross the border illegally but because they need to for their families. Most of these people are coming in to protect their families and construct a better life for them. Which is not fair to create this zero tolerance policy and making it result in family separation at the border. Knowing these people are coming in because they are in need. 

       In this video some rhetorical factors I like that the authors used was the choice of evidence they picked. Meaning a part of researching and gathering ll the data to use in the video. They have included an attorney. Where in the video you’ll hear audio parts from the attorney speaking about this matter. 

   “The situation has been called in an invasion, national emergency, and a humanitarian crisis”

        Thrid Source Entry: Lazo, Luz. “For Kids, Crossing the U.S. Border Illegally Involves Fear and Hope.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 9 Oct. 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost/for-kids-crossing-the-us-border-illegally-involves-fear-and-hope/2019/10/01/5618ed00-e131-11e9-be96-6adb81821e90_story.html.

       In this article it states a young girl and her family experience crossing the U.S border. An 11 year old girl Wendy traveled with her parents and her older sister in May. They traveled by foot, car, and crossed the Rio Grande River. It took them approximately 1 month to arrive at the U.S border from El Salvador. During this course Wendy with her father have gotten split up from her mother and older sister. Later Wendy and her father surrendered to the U.S. Border Patrol officers. After they were taken to an immigrant processing center in Mc Allen, Texas. As Wendy explained she was taken away from her father and put into a big room with no windows and other immigrant girls and women. Where she stayed for four days and only ate ham and cheese sandwiches. Within these four days she wasn’t able to take a shower and neither was there enough space to lie down on the floor due to it being very crowded. Also at night she would use aluminum foil as blankets. At the end of the four day Wendy was reunited with her father and flew out to Washington to be with their relatives that would host them. After going through a similar experience Wendy’s Mother and older sister joined them in early June at Maryland. However, after this long journey Wendy’s parents discuss the reason they left their home country was because they didn’t earn enough money to support their families and were also afraid of gangs. Although Trump’s administration has announced that those who enter the country illegally will immediately be sent back to their countries or to Mexico while the U.S. government considers their immigrantiom request.

      After reading this article about Wendy and her family going through this harsh experience to come to the U.S. Which I disagree with in how this young girl and her family were treated since they surrendered to the U.S. Border Patrol officers to the day they were released. The conditions they were in are unbelievable and inhuman. According to the article, Wendy states, “During the day, she said, she mostly sat in silence and prayed quietly”. They were in a big room with no windows to even see a bit of sunlight. They slept on the floor and there wasn’t even enough space to sleep and they would cover themselves with aluminum foils. Also they weren’t properly being fed healthy food and not enough. However, I don’t understand how our country is allowing this type of unfair treatment towards undocumented people. I understand our government doesn’t want undocumented people entering illegally to the U.S. Although we also have to understand that these immigrants don’t do it because they want to cause problems. But because they have families they need to support and they just want to offer a better future for their kids. Which I see no harm in and also no need for all this injustice being made throws them. They experience enough risk traveling from their home places to the U.S. These undocumented families do this is because they’re are in some really big need. For our country to be harsh and try to close the doors on them. 

      In this article a rhetorical factor I like was that it was about an actual family that had first hand experience of what actually happened in the U.S border. Another factor I like was the pictures the author included of the family and how they’re doing to this present day.

       “I was afraid I was going to drown,” said Wendy, who now lives in Silver Spring, Maryland. The entire trip was long and scary, she said.”

       Concluison: Throughout all my research the most important thing I noticed is the bizarre process these undocumented families have to go through when coming to the U.S. Border. That are actually only really seeking help from the United State. Within my research what surprised me was how hard all this situation must have been for both parents and children. Having little children like 4 year old separated from their parents. These children don’t understand what is going on. Where they go through many emotional problems like anxiety, fear, sadness, and many more. Not having one person for comfort like their parents and marking them go through a legal process without them. Also the amount of suffering a parent goes through when being separated from their children. Words can’t explain how a mother or father must feel when their children that are everything to them isn’t by their side. Which more pain must be when they don’t hear or know anything about their children. Overall, after researching my question all the information I have collected has made me understand more in depth of what’s actually happening at the border. It has made me realize the major issue than just knowing what is happening to these undocumented families at the border. Although the injustice that the government is making towards these families. Which is important to know to be able to be aware of situations like these. Having students knowing about these undocumented families will help bring awareness to the public eye. Making society see and understand what the United States is doing to these families is necessary. With awareness, we as a community in the U.S. can make a major difference. We can all come together to make a change for these people that are in major need of help. Within doing so it will also reach up to the eye of our government system. Which hopefully they will view over and see how the way there handling undocumented families isn’t actually the most correctly manner. Their current procedures are just unnecessary; there’s no need to have separation between parents and children. It doesn’t benefit the system nor the government. Improvement should be made. Make new and reasonable procedures that are really necessary that would actually benefit both the government and the immigrants. Instead of causing so much pain and distress in these innocent people that only want the opportunity to raise a better life for their families.